THE VALLEY OF UNREST
Far away - far away-
Far away - as far at least
Lies that valley as the day
Down within the golden east-
All things lovely - are not they
Far away - far away?

It is called the Valley Nis.
And a Syriac tale there is
Thereabout which Time hath said
Shall not be interpreted.
Something about Satan's dart-
Something about angel wings-
Much about a broken hart-
All about unhappy things:
But ' the Valley Nis ' at best
Means 'the valley of unrest'.

Once it smil'd, a silent dell
Where the people did not dwell,
Having gone onto the wars-
And the sly, misteriuos stars,
With a visage full of meaning,
O'er the unguarded flowers were leaning:
Or the sun ray dripp'd all red
Thro' the tulips overhead,
Then grew paler as it fell
On the quiet Asphodel.

Now the unhappy shall confess
Nothing there is motionless:
Helen, like thy human eye
There th' uneasy violets lie-
There the reed grass doth wave
Over the old forgotten grave-
One by one from the treetop
There the eternal dews do drop-
There the vague and dreamy trees
Do roll like seas in northern breezeEdgar Allan Poe